Many people happily tuck into their mince pies on Christmas Day, but should they think twice?

Where did the banning mince pies on Christmas Day come from?

It has been claimed that eating the snack is illegal in England, if undertaken on Christmas Day. The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies were banned at Christmas, along with other tasty treats.

He wanted to tackle gluttony in England and he also argued that Christmas contained too many superstitions of the Roman Catholic Church, which he hated.

The Christmas bans in 1657 didn’t go down well, causing outrage known as the Plum Pudding Riots in the Kent city in 1658.

Cromwell ended up having to send 3,000 soldiers from The Westgate Towers to break down the city gates and enforce the ban.